The Nile’s Source Discovered | History Today The Nile’s Source Discovered East Africa John Hanning Speke discovered the source of the Nile on August 3rd, 1858. John Hanning Speke, an army officer’s son from the West Country, was commissioned into the army of the East India Company in 1844 at the age of seventeen. In 1854 he eagerly joined an expedition to east Africa under the command of Captain Richard Burton, who had returned from his sensational visit to Mecca disguised as an Arab pilgrim the year before. The explorers came under a fierce attack by tribesmen at Berbera and both Speke and Burton were wounded, Speke almost fatally. Rightly or wrongly, Speke believed that Burton had questioned his courage in this incident. It rankled with him all his life and underlay a growing antipathy between the two men, who were in any case extremely unalike. Compared with the brilliant and wildly unconventional Burton, Jack Speke seemed a plodder. Despite this, however, in 1856 Speke joined Burton on another expedition to east Africa, organized by the Royal Geographical Society.

The purpose was supposedly to follow up rumours of a great lake in the interior, the so-called Sea of Ujiji, but in reality the search was on for the source of the Nile. The expedition moved inland from the coast opposite Zanzibar and, in February 1858, it discovered Lake Tanganyika. After three months exploring the lake, both Burton and Speke were ill and the expedition started back towards the coast. However, they had heard tell of another huge lake to the north of Tanganyika. Speke, who had by now recovered, set off in command of a small party and in August came upon what he later described as ‘a vast expanse’ of ‘the pale-blue waters’ of the northern lake. He named it Lake Victoria and believed, correctly, that it was the source of the Nile. Burton would not accept Speke’s claim to have discovered the Nile’s source, for which he felt there was no convincing evidence. He believed that the true source was more likely to be ‘his’ Lake Tanganyika. But Speke got back to England in May 1859 before Burton, and announced that he had found the source of the Nile.

Burton felt belittled and was infuriated by Speke’s account of the expedition in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine. The breach between them was never healed. The Royal Geographical Society sent Speke back to Africa to substantiate his Nile claims. The expedition left the coast in September 1860 but there were difficulties because its two interpreters quarrelled, which complicated the negotiations with the local rulers through whose territories the expedition had to pass and with the Arab traders from whom it needed supplies. There were long delays before the explorers reached Gondokoro, 750 miles south of Khartoum, in February 1862. After much politicking and intrigue the powerful king of Buganda, Mutesa, allowed Speke to proceed to the point on Lake Victoria where the White Nile issues from the lake. He reached what he named Ripon Falls on July 28th 1862. He was thirty-five and this was the crowning point of his life. Unfortunately, Speke did not follow the Nile stream northwards as closely as he might have, which enabled doubters to question whether ‘his’ river really was the Nile.

Speke got back to Gondokoro in February 1863 and by May was in Cairo where he announced to the waiting world that the question of the source of the Nile was now ‘settled’. Returning to London to address a special meeting of the Royal Geographical Society, Speke was the hero of the hour. In December 1863 he published his book, The Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile. Unfortunately for him, it had been badly edited and appeared both inaccurate and disagreeably boastful. In 1864 he published What Led to the Discovery of the Source of the Nile about the earlier expedition, which also did his reputation no good. Burton was still refusing to admit that Speke had discovered the source of the Nile, the two men were completely at loggerheads and a debate between them was scheduled at the British Association for September 16th. Speke went shooting partridges in Wiltshire the day before, climbed over a wall with his gun cocked and shot himself. His death was probably an accident, but word spread that he had committed suicide because he was too scared to face Burton in debate. Speke was thirty-seven when he died.

It was not until years later that he was proved to have been right and that Lake Victoria Nyanza is the source of the White Nile (though the lake has several feeder rivers). Nile River from source to mouth | Reizen langs Rivieren Travelling along Rivers Reizen langs Rivieren Travelling along Rivers Nile River from source to mouth With an estimated length of almost 6.700 km the Nile is the longest river in the world. The White Nile rises in Lake Victoria in Uganda. Untill today the discussion about the real source is still going on. Since 2006 the British discoverer Neil McGrigor claims having found the most distant source in Rwanda, at the beginning of the Kagera River with its mouth in the western part of Lake Victoria. The Nile leaves this largest lake of Africa at Ripon Falls near Jinja in Uganda. For 500 kilometres the so called Victoria Nile flows in northern direction. After the passing of the famous Murchison Falls the river flows into Lake Albert. From here the river is known as the Albert Nile and is the last part of the river on Ugandan territory. Via South Sudan the White Nile enters Sudan.

Near the capital Khartoum the White Nile meets the Blue Nile. This tributary begins at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and flows into Sudan from the southeast. The northern section of the river flows almost entirely through desert into Egypt. This country has depended on the river since ancient times. Most of the population and cities of Egypt are situated along the Nile and nearly all the cultural and historical sites of Ancient Egypt are found along the banks of the river. Through a large delta the Nile ends into the Mediterranean Sea. The mighty waters of the Nile flow at an average volume of 300 million cubic meters per day passing in the course of a 3 month journey. Part 1: the Nile in Uganda The team of Travelling along Rivers is flying from Amsterdam to Entebbe, the airport of the Ugandan capital Kampala. About 80 km from here the first goal is Jinja, a town along Lake Victoria near the source of the Nile. Not far away from here Holland Park, lush situated in a lovely and hilly landscape is run by a Dutch couple. A perfect place along the Nile to relax and recover from the tiring flight and recharge the battery for further travelling in Uganda.

Holland Park is also an ideal base for visiting Jinja and other points of interest along the river. We got a special permission to visit the Breweries, where the famous Nile Beer is produced with water tapped from the river. The team follows the course of the Victoria Nile in northern direction with the help of Aerolink, a domestic airline offering flights into Uganda's national parks. Our goal is the Pakuba Airstrip in Murchison Falls National Park. Sliced in half by the Victoria Nile the park is also the location of the spectacular Murchison Falls. Here the river is facing a narrow passage of 6 meters wide and presents an impressive demonstration of power while the swirling water overcomes a height difference of almost 43 meters. In Murchison Falls Park our team awaits an intensive program. Based in the luxurious lodge Paraa Safari Lodge, we are planning a wild life safari in the savannah landscape, a visit to the Murchison Falls and two boat safari's on the Albert Nile. The last sailing trip will bring us upstream to the Delta near the border of South Sudan, the end of the course of the Nile on Ugandan territory.

View on the Nile from Holland Park near Jinja The water in- and outlet along the Nile The report: The Murchison Falls A hippo near the border with South Sudan, the last part of the Nile on Ugandan territory The age-old question: Where is the real source? For thousands of years the source of the Nile River has been a subject of constant speculation. The Ancient Egyptians believed that the river had its source in two great mountains with eternal springs. From here one branch was said to flow north, dividing Egypt, and another south into Nubia and Ethiopia. Some also believed that the Nile River’s annual inundation was caused by snowfall at its source. In August 1858 explorer John Hanning Speke became the first European to see Lake Victoria. He claimed this largest lake in Africa to be the source of the Nile River. For the majority of people, Lake Victoria is still considered to be the real source, but there is also a theory this spot should be traced back further. For example to the headwaters of the longest river flowing into the lake. This is the Kagera River.

Its remotest source was traced to the hills of Burundi in 1934 by the German Burckhard Waldecker. However in 2006, three explorers from Great Brittain and New Zealand ‘discovered’ to what they claim is the most distant source, in the Nyungwe Forest in Rwanda. Their critics however pointed out that the Burundian source is much further south than the one in Rwanda. So who’s right? In the meantime the conclusion seems justified that the discussion about the real source of the Nile will go on for a while… The report: 'The source of the Nile at Jinja' Lake Victoria fed by thousands of streams from 3 countries With a surface area of about 68.000 square kilometers Lake Victoria is the largest of all African lakes and also the largest tropical lake in the world. Its surface belongs to three countries: the northern half to Uganda, the southern half to Tanzania, and a small part of the northeastern sector to Kenya. Lake level is an ongoing issue The lake water is drained at a rate of about about 600 m3 per second at Jinja on the northern shore, into the Victoria Nile.

A combination of droughts and the growing needs for electricity generated from the Owen Falls Dam near Jinja has periodically lowered the water level in the Lake and discussions about lake levels between the East African countries sharing Lake Victoria is an ongoing issue. Lake Victoria receives its water primarily from direct precipitation and thousands of small streams. The Kagera River is the largest stream flowing into the lake on the western shore. There are many isles in the lake, some of which are known for their beautiful landscape, health resorts and sightseeing places. A number of coastal towns such as Kisumu (Kenya), Entebbe (Uganda), Bukoba, Muwanza and Musoma (Tanzania), are connected with each other by ship routes. Lake Victoria has, during its geological history, gone through changes ranging from its present shallow depression, through to what may have been a series of much smaller lakes. 400.000 years old Lake Victoria has dried up completely at least three times since it formed. These drying cycles are probably related to past ice ages, which were times when precipitation declined globally. Lake Victoria last dried out 17,300 years ago, and it refilled beginning about 14,700 years ago.

Geologically, Lake Victoria is relatively young – about 400.000 years – and it formed when westward-flowing rivers were dammed by an upthrown crustal block. Explorers of Africa in History By Alistair Boddy-Evans Updated August 08, 2016. Even in the 18th century, much of the interior of Africa was unfamiliar to Europeans. Rather they limited themselves to trade along the coast, first in gold, ivory, spices, and later slaves. In 1788 Joseph Banks, the botanist who'd sailed across the Pacific Ocean with Cook, went as far as to found the African Association to promote the exploration of the interior of the continent. What follows is a list of those explorers whose names went down in history. Ibn Battuta (1304-1377) traveled over 100,000 kilometres from his home in Morocco. According to the book he dictated, he traveled as far as Beijing and the Volga River; scholars say it's unlikely he traveled everywhere he claims to have.

James Bruce (1730-94) was a Scottish explorer who set off from Cairo in 1768 to find the source of the River Nile . He arrived at Lake Tana in 1770, confirming that this lake was the origin of the Blue Nile, one of the tributaries of the Nile. Mungo Park (1771-1806) was hired by the African Association in 1795 to explore the River Niger. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World When the Scotsman returned to Britain having reached the Niger, he was disappointed by the lack of public recognition of his achievement and that he was not acknowledged as a great explorer. In 1805 he set out to follow the Niger to its source. His canoe was ambushed by tribesmen at the Bussa Falls and he drowned. René-Auguste Caillié (1799-1838), a Frenchman, was the first European to visit Timbuktu and survive to tell the tale. He'd disguised himself as an Arab to make the trip.

Imagine his disappointment when he discovered that the city wasn't made of gold, as legend said, but of mud. His journey started in West Africa in March 1827, headed towards Timbuktu where he stayed for two weeks. He then crossed the Sahara (the first European to do so) in a caravan of 1,200 animals, then the Atlas Mountains to reach Tangier in 1828, from where he sailed home to France. Heinrich Barth (1821-1865) was a German working for the British government. His first expedition (1844-1845)was from Rabat (Morocco) across the coast of North Africa to Alexandria (Egypt). His second expedition (1850-1855) took him from Tripoli (Tunisia) across the Sahara to Lake Chad, the River Benue, and Timbuktu, and back across the Sahara again. Samuel Baker (1821-1893) was the first European to see the Murchison Falls and Lake Albert, in 1864. He was actually hunting for the source of the Nile.

Richard Burton (1821-1890) was not only a great explorer but also a great scholar (he produced the first unabridged translation of The Thousand Nights and a Night). His most famous exploit is probably his dressing as an Arab and visiting the holy city of Mecca (in 1853) which non-Muslims are forbidden to enter. In 1857 he and Speke set off from the east coast of Africa (Tanzania) to find the source of the Nile. At Lake Tanganyika Burton fell seriously ill, leaving Speke to travel on alone. John Hanning Speke (1827-1864) spent 10 years with the Indian Army before starting his travels with Burton in Africa. Speke discovered Lake Victoria in August 1858 which he initially believed to be the source of the Nile. Burton didn't believe him and in 1860 Speke set out again, this time with James Grant. In July 1862 he found the source of the Nile, the Ripon Falls north of Lake Victoria.

David Livingstone (1813-1873) arrived in Southern Africa as a missionary with the aim of improving the life of Africans through European knowledge and trade. A qualified doctor and minister, he had worked in a cotton mill near Glasgow, Scotland, as a boy. Between 1853 and 1856 he crossed Africa from west to east, from Luanda (in Angola) to Quelimane (in Mozambique), following the Zambezi River to the sea. Between 1858 and 1864 he explored the Shire and Ruvuma river valleys and Lake Nyasa ( Lake Malawi ). In 1865 he set off to find the source of the River Nile. Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904) was a journalist sent by the New York Herald to find Livingstone who had been presumed dead for four years as no-one in Europe had heard from him. Stanley found him at Uiji on the edge of Lake Tanganyika in Central Africa on 13 November 1871. Stanley's words "Dr Livingstone, I presume?" have gone down in the history as one of the greatest understatements ever.

Dr Livingstone is said to have replied, "You have brought me new life." Livingstone had missed the Franco-Prussian War, the opening of the Suez Canal , and the inauguration of the transatlantic telegraph. Livingstone refused to return to Europe with Stanley and continued on his journey to find the source of the Nile. He died in May 1873 in the swamps around Lake Bangweulu. His heart and viscera were buried, then his body was carried to Zanzibar, from where it was shipped to Britain. He was buried at Westminster Abbey in London. Unlike Livingstone, Stanley was motivated by fame and fortune. He traveled in large, well-armed expeditions -- he had 200 porters on his expedition to find Livingstone, who often traveled with only a few bearers. Stanley's second expedition set off from Zanzibar towards Lake Victoria (which he sailed around in his boat, the Lady Alice), then headed into Central Africa towards Nyangwe and the Congo (Zaire) River, which he followed for some 3,220 kilometres from its tributaries to the sea, reaching Boma in August 1877.

He then set off back into Central Africa to find Emin Pasha, a German explorer believed to be in danger from warring cannibals. The German explorer, philosopher, and journalist Carl Peters (1856-1918) played a significant role in the creation of Deutsch-Ostafrika (German East Africa) A leading figure in the ' Scramble for Africa ' Peters was ultimately vilified for his cruelty to Africans and removed from office. He was, however, considered a hero by the German emperor Wilhelm II and Adolf Hitler .. Mary Kingsley 's (1862-1900) father spent most of his life accompanying noblemen around the world, keeping diaries and notes which he hoped to publish. Educated at home, she learnt the rudiments of natural history from him and his library. He employed a tutor to teach his daughter German so she could help him translate scientific papers. His comparative study of sacrificial rites around the world was his major passion and it was Mary's desire to complete this which took her to West Africa after her parents' deaths in 1892 (within six weeks of each other).

Her two journeys weren't remarkable for their geological exploration, but were remarkable for being undertaken, alone, by a sheltered, middle-class, Victorian spinster in her thirties without any knowledge of African languages or French, or much money (she arrived in West Africa with only £300). Kingsley did collect specimens for science, including a new fish which was named after her. She died nursing prisoners of war in Simon's Town ( Cape Town ) during the Anglo-Boer War. The article is a revised and expanded version of that first published on 25 June 2001. The River Nile Homepage Lake Victoria Lake Victoria is big. Really big. It is Africa's largest lake, the largest tropical lake in the world, and the world's second largest fresh water lake in area. Looks can be deceiving, however because the lake is relatively shallow. This means that its size can greatly vary when rainfall over its basin varies. The lake is only the seventh largest freshwater lake by volume. The mighty Lake Victoria was thought for a long time to be the source of the Nile. It is in a sense. Waters from the large lake leave by the Victoria Nile to head north to join the Albert Nile in northern Uganda.

When the water leaves the massive Lake Victoria, it does so in a spectacular fashion. The water pours out of the lake at the Ripon Falls, also known as Owen Falls Dam, in Uganda. It then goes by the Victoria Nile to Lake Kyoga before joining the Albert Nile. The lake itself is shared by three countries: Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The headwaters for the streams that feed the lake, however, originate from the mountains of Rwanda and Burundi. The exact southernmost source of the Nile was only found by German explorer Dr. Burkhart Waldecker in 1937. It is a small bubbling spring in the hills of Burundi. Other water sources start their journey in the snow melt fed creeks of the Mountains of the Moon of Rwanda. These mountains were known even in ancient Greece and have always had a sense of mystical reverence about them. The idea that Lake Victoria was the source for the Nile was proclaimed by it's British discover John Hanning Speke in 1858. Maps of the lake by Arabic explorers, however, date back to the late 1100's and the Roman Ptolemy seems to have drawn a map of the Nile with large lakes near its source.

The lake's current name comes, like the other two lakes mentioned below, from British royalty, specifically Queen Victoria. MODIS image of the lakes of the Great Rift Valley and Lake Victoria. Red squares show fires. Lake Victoria: a sick giant Lake Victoria: a sick giant by Nancy Chege Copyright © 1995 People & the Planet Lake Victoria was 'discovered' in 1858 by the British explorer John Speke, after months of braving dense forests and tropical diseases in his search for the source of the Nile. But now the Lake is in poor health, and the livelihood of the communities round it is threat-ened. Nancy Chege, of the Worldwatch Institute, explains what has caused the trouble and what can be done to save the Lake. If he could see Lake Victoria today, John Speke would probably stare in shock and disbelief. The once clear, life-filled lake is murky, smelly, and choking with algae. The ecological health of Lake Victoria has been affected profoundly as a result of a rapidly growing population, clearance of natural vegetation along the shores, a booming fish-export industry, the disappearance of several fish species native to the lake, prolific growth of algae, and dumping of untreated effluent by several industries.

Much of the damage is vast and irreversible. Traditional lifestyles of lakeshore communities have been disrupted and are crumbling. There is a consensus among scientists that if an accelerated push to save the lake is not made soon, this much-needed body of water will cease to sustain life. Lake Victoria, shared by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, was named after the Queen of England and is the world's largest tropical lake and the second largest freshwater lake. Covering a total of 69,000 square kilometres, the lake is as large as Ireland, and lies in the Rift Valley of East Africa, a 3,500- mile system of deep cracks in the earth's crust running from the Red Sea south to Mozambique. Although this region of Africa is better known for its large cats and the herds of wildebeests, zebras and giraffes that roam the savannah plains, its most diverse and endangered ecosystems are to be found under water. Early in the 20th century, a few decades after Speke's 'discovery', the colonialists started to exploit Lake Victoria's watershed. They cleared the surrounding natural vegetation, denuding forests and draining swamps, to plant cash crops, such as tea, coffee and sugar.

Over the years, cash crop plantations have grown in size and number. Agricultural chemicals, applied on these plantations are washed into rivers during the rainy season, and end up in the lake, providing nutrients for unwanted, unsightly algal blooms. The plantations attracted migrant workers who settled in the area. As the population grew and fishing methods advanced, overfishing became a problem and catch sizes began to drop. By the 1950s, popular species, such as ngege (Oreochromis esculentus), had diminished so severely that they had become commercially extinct. To remedy the situation, British officials introduced new fish in the lake's waters: the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Nile perch (Lates niloticus). The new fish constituted only a minute percentage of the lake's fish biomass, while cichlids (small indigenous species) made up 80 per cent. Up until the late 1970s, the biomass composition of the lake remained relatively constant, but in 1980, a survey of the lake revealed an abrupt and unexpected change: a total reverse in biomass composition.

Cichlid numbers had fallen drastically, comprising only 1 per cent of fish weight, while those of the Nile perch had suddenly jumped to constitute 80 per cent. Cichlids are small bony fish whose mouth parts have evolved to suit their different eating patterns. Some feed on fish eggs, others on insects, while a majority prefer detritus. With the absence of significant fish numbers to feed on detritus, the organic material decays, consuming oxygen as it sinks to the floor. Some areas of the lake, particularly the lowest levels, are depleted of oxygen and are thus inhabitable. They appear to be dead zones. For decades, ecologists have travelled to Lake Victoria to study cichlids for their explosive evolutionary capabilities. In only some 14,000 years, as many as 400 species of cichlids evolved from 5 species of ancestors, making Lake Victoria one of the most species-diverse lakes in the world. However, the number of cichlid species has now plunged to 200, thanks to the Nile perch.

Loss of half the cichlid species has been termed as "the greatest vertebrate mass extinction in recorded history" by Les Kauffman, a chief scientist at Boston University. Commonly referred to as a voracious predator, the perch can grow to a hefty six-foot, 200-pound giant by feeding primarily on the smaller fish. Local fishermen are working harder and catching less; they are in a predicament. The populations of smaller fish, which traditionally have been their source of livelihood, have been decimated either by larger predators or by overfishing. The big, oily Nile perch, generally referred to as mbuta is too far out in the open waters for the little fishing boats, and too big to be caught in the unsophisticated nets. However, although it is perceived as an ecological disaster by scientists, the introduction of the Nile perch is viewed as an economic booster by successful businessmen and powerful government officials. Hauled by the ton from the open lake by large, commercial boats, the fish are sold to nearby foreign-owned processing plants where they are rapidly cleaned, filleted, boxed and frozen, and sent off to prohibitively expensive restaurants in Nairobi and to the delicacy freezers of stores in the Middle East and Europe.

The Nile perch has indeed become a money-spinner. Its hide is used to make belts and purses, while its bladder is sold to English alcohol-makers who use it as a filter and to Orientals who prepare soup stock with it. In response to an increased, international demand for the Nile perch and other lake fish, commercial fishing fleets have not only displaced local fishermen but have also stripped many women in lakeside communities from one of their jobs. Processing of fish was traditionally performed by women, but has now been taken over by large filleting plants. The women have resorted to processing fish waste, commonly referred to as mgongo- wazi, 'bare-back' in Swahili. The waste, comprised of head, backbone, and tail, is sun-dried and then deep-fried and sold to local people drawn to its low price and nutritional value. Situated not far from the processing plants is a whole range of industries, varying from textile and leather-tanning to paper mills and breweries. Most of these are in Tanzania and Kenya, and are notorious for discharging untreated effluent. A recent study shows that on a daily basis, Tanzania is responsible for 2 million litres of untreated sewage and industrial waste that flow into the lake.

Although Kenya has rather strict pollution laws, these are rarely enforced because the industries have ties with foreign investors and the Government often has a significant stake in the polluting units. Moreover, it is considerably cheaper for the industries to pay an occasional 10,000 shillings fine (US$220) than to install equipment to treat effluent at a cost of US$2 million. A more recent threat to the lake is the water hyacinth. With the deceptive appearance of a lush, green carpet, the hyacinth is a merciless, free- floating weed, reproducing rapidly and covering any uncovered territory. First noticed in 1989, the weed has already spread like wildfire, and has covered areas in all three countries. It forms a dense mat, blocking sunlight for organisms below, depleting the low concentrations of oxygen and trapping fishing boats and nets of all sizes. The hyacinth is an ideal habitat for snails that cause bilharzia and for snakes. Scientists are desperately trying to control the weed: their most promising approach involves harvesting the hyacinth and using it either for compost or for biogas production. The health implications associated with the dilapidated state of the lake are extensive.

Dumping untreated sewerage in the lake and nearby rivers exposes people to waterborne diseases, such as typhoid, cholera and diarrhoea. As fish prices soar beyond the common man's reach, protein malnutrition maybe a real threat. How ironic this would be, considering that over 200,000 tons of fish are exported from this region annually. After the carnage in nearby Rwanda in May 1994, certain parts of the lake were considered disaster areas by the Ugandan Government, after thousands of bodies had floated into the lake via the Kagera river. Along the Ugandan-Tanzanian border, people fished out bodies that were not entangled by the hyacinth, to prevent an epidemic. During this crisis, the governments of all 3 countries were reported to be working closely to monitor the environmental situation. Although the problems facing Lake Victoria may appear discouragingly complex and colossal, international and domestic efforts are under way to save the lake and curb its deterioration. In 1992, representatives of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda formed the Lake Victoria Organization to co- ordinate rescue efforts. One of these efforts is aimed at the cichlids.

To save these tiny fish from further extinction, researchers affiliated with local and foreign institutions are breeding 40 different species in aquaria in the United States and Europe under an IUCN (World Conservation Union) programme. At the grassroots level, a Kenyan group of professors, researchers, and community leaders called "Friends of Lake Victoria," or OSIENALA as abbreviated in the local Luo language, is working to protect the interests of local fishermen and to encourage aquaculture. In order to ease the demand that is affecting the size and diversity of Lake Victoria's fish stocks, OSIENALA is co-operating with local groups to educate the many millions of people who are dependent on the lake about the advantages of fish farming. Elsewhere in the region, aquaculture is already offering an important alternative source of protein and income. Another promising development is the Lake Victoria Research Team, formed in the late 1980s as a result of studies by the US National Undersea Research Program in collaboration with local scientists. The studies revealed that below 30 metres, plants, animals and other organisms were dying because oxygen levels were too low.

The Team, funded by a range of international bodies, including the National Science Foundation, the Canadian International Development Research Council and the Pew Foundation, was formed to intensify research efforts. They have discovered an abundance of a small shrimp, Cardina nilotica, in sections of the lake where the oxygen levels are too low for the Nile perch. In this habitat, the shrimp may have found refuge from the perch; and an increase in the number of snails. They have also found that populations of snail-eating fish have fallen drastically, a situation that could favour the spread of bilharzia. Although the lake has been wantonly damaged over the years, it should not be allowed to die. Lake Victoria is invaluable to the many millions who depend on it for food, for employment and for recreation, and concerted efforts by the governments and local communities in all three countries is needed if matters are to be put right. □ Other People & the Planet articles may be accessed at , a website reporting on population, consumption and the environment. Copyright © 2017 Cichlid-Forum.com. All Rights Reserved.

How the source of the Nile was finally uncovered | Express Yourself | Comment | Daily Express How the source of the Nile was finally uncovered FOR centuries the River Nile has fascinated, even seduced, the questing mind. 00:00, Fri, Sep 9, 2011 The Nile flows in Uganda [] As far back as the second century BC, many had sought to solve the question of its source. But it was not until the middle of the 19th century that this geographical mystery was solved and revealed its secrets to a hugely courageous group of intrepid British adventurers who beat a remarkable path in Africa. Between 1856 and 1876 these men (and one woman) became national heroes as stirring accounts emerged of their journeys into the heart of the Dark Continent. These expeditions fired the Victorian imagination. Now a book, Explorers Of The Nile, by historian Tim Jeal, gives a detailed account of these forays in search of the Nile’s source. The object of the quest had been the planet’s most elusive secret. Alexander The Great is said to have asked about the Nile and a proverb grew up over the centuries.

Dreamers of the impossible were often told: “It would be easier to find the source of the Nile.” The men were forced to endure malaria and flesh-eating ulcers as well as stab and spear wounds The huge challenge, however, fired the imagination of these individualistic and aggressive explorers – among them David Livingstone and Henry Stanley – and they set out to fill in one of the blanks on the world’s maps. It was a formidable challenge. The world’s longest river has two main branches – the White Nile, which flows 4,230 miles from its remotest central African sources to the Mediterranean, and the Blue Nile, which rises high up on the Ethiopian plateau and flows for 1,450 miles. The two parts then join at Khartoum by which time the White Nile has flowed some 2,500 miles. To natives of this vast area the river possessed magical qualities. Some felt it was god-like and even feared its wrath. But European explorers faced more gruelling horrors than mere native superstition. They were forced to persevere in the face of treacherous rainy season quagmires and deadly disease for which, in those pre-penicillin days, there was no cure.

One noted explorer, John Hanning Speke, gave a graphic account of being “invaded” in his tent by a host of small black beetles – one of which rushed into his ear. “One of the horrid little insects,” he wrote, “struggled up the narrow channel (of the ear) until he got arrested by want of passage room. This impediment evidently enraged him for he began with exceeding vigour, like a rabbit at a hole, to dig violently away.” Speke was forced to gouge out the beetle using a knife which led to his face and shoulder swelling up. He also lost his hearing in that ear. The men were also forced to endure malaria and flesh-eating ulcers as well as stab and spear wounds inflicted by natives in revolt. But what partly drew British explorers to central Africa was more their hunger for fame (and fortune) than any simple thirst for adventure. Among the most charismatic was Sir Richard Burton, already well-known for his travels in Asia, Africa and the Americas. He had an extraordinary knowledge of languages (he spoke 29 European, African and Asian ones) and excited public interest by travelling disguised as a native Arab in Mecca.

His noted fascination with sex resulted in his world famous translation of the Kama Sutra. In 1856 Speke and Burton joined forces and set off for East Africa to find the Great Lakes which were rumoured to exist in the centre of the continent. Both men hoped the expedition would eventually locate the source of the Nile. They became the first Europeans to discover Lake Tanganyika (although the hapless Speke had gone temporarily blind and could not see it). They were told of a second lake in the area but Burton, himself now sick, was left behind and a shaky Speke had to go alone. He found the magnificent body of water and named it Lake Victoria. It was eventually named as the source of the Nile. But it was impossible to prove this at the time because much of the expedition’s survey equipment had been lost and vitally important technical questions about the height and extent of the lake could not be answered. Speke returned to England without Burton and was quick to make a speech to the Royal Geographical Society in which he claimed to have discovered the source of the Nile. Burton, who later returned, was infuriated by Speke’s announcement. He accused his former friend of breaking to speak together.

Speke returned to Lake Victoria in 1862 and found the Nile flowing out of it. He then sailed along the river until he met up with other explorers. Reaching Khartoum, he sent a telegram to London: “The Nile is settled.” This enraged Burton who claimed Speke had not followed the Nile from the point it flowed from Lake Victoria. A debate on the matter was arranged by the British Association in Bath for September 18, 1864. But that morning Speke died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while out hunting at Neston Park, Wiltshire. An inquest concluded that it was accidental but some thought it was suicide. Despite evidence that it was clearly an accident, Burton soon declared that Speke had committed suicide to avoid “the exposure of his misstatements in regard to the Nile sources”. Another extraordinary figure in this race to find the source of the Nile was Sir Samuel Baker, who was accompanied on his explorations by his wife Florence. They were by all accounts an unconventional couple who, despite flouting some Victorian rules, were popular within society. Only Queen Victoria refused to receive them on the grounds they had enjoyed pre-marital relations (which they had).

The couple had met in unusual circumstances. Baker discovered his future wife, then aged 14, about to be sold in an Ottoman slave auction. She had been orphaned in a Hungarian uprising, brought up in a harem and given the name Florenz (which she later changed to Florence). He smuggled her away and they would eventually appear in Africa approaching the Nile from the Egyptian end. Florence cut a colourful figure in Africa where the natives were fascinated by her blonde hair (which none had even seen before). She had made herself a female version of her husband’s military uniform. But what shocked other Europeans they met was her insistence on refusing to ride side-saddle – the normal practice for women in that era. Florence would always ride with her shapely legs astride the horse. The couple also fell victim to malaria and on one occasion recovered, quite amazingly, after an old chief sprayed them with spittle. However their travels were not without moments of unintentional humour. The same chief spotted Baker’s chamber pot in the corner of their hut and decided that it would make a perfect serving bowl for important occasions.

He was deeply disappointed when he was informed that it was a “sacred vessel” which had to accompany Baker everywhere he went. Back in Europe during the decades that men such as Speke, Burton and Baker were venturing into the heart of Africa there were more political considerations developing. After the creation of a unified Germany and Italy, the other European powers (specifically France and Britain) became involved in an intricate political dance to maintain dominance. All looked to Africa for what was called “a place in the sun”. Britain in particular focused on Egypt and the control of the Suez Canal. The Nile area would equally become a part of such a scramble for power. The explorers of this era were a rare breed whose courage and curiosity were matched by their tenacity and physical endurance. Although many suffered at the hands of Africans who saw them as a threat, they mostly strived to make the lives of those they met better. Speke had been deeply shocked by the poverty of the local people and he realised, like many of the other adventurers, that the establishment of colonies was the best way to clear the path for enlightenment. For the men who found the source of the mighty Nile also knew that the river would prove to be one of Africa’s blessings.

To order a copy of Explorers Of The Nile by Tim Jeal (Faber, £25) send a cheque payable to Express Bookshop to: Nile Offer, PO Box 200, Falmouth TR11 4WJ or call 0871 988 8367 (10p a minute from UK landlines) or order online at UK delivery is free. BBC - History - Historic Figures: John Hanning Speke (1827 - 1864) z John Hanning Speke © >Speke was an English explorer and the first European to reach Lake Victoria in east Africa, which he correctly identified as the long-sought source of the Nile. John Hanning Speke was born on 4 May 1827 in Bideford in Devon. He was commissioned into the British army in 1844 and posted to India where he served in the Punjab and travelled in the Himalayas and Tibet. In April 1855, as part of Richard Burton's expedition to explore Somaliland, Speke was severely wounded in an attack by the Somalis.

Invalided home, he volunteered for the Crimea and served during the war with a regiment of Turks. In December 1856, Speke accepted an invitation from Burton to join an expedition to search for the reported great lakes in east central Africa and, particularly, to try and find Lake Nyassa, said to be the origin of the Nile. They left Zanzibar in June 1857 and, after exploring the East African coast for six months to find the best route inland, became the first Europeans to reach Lake Tanganyika in February 1858. During the return trip, Speke left Burton, who was unwell, and struck out northward alone. In July he found a great lake which he named in honour of Queen Victoria. Speke's theory that the lake was the source of Nile was rejected by Burton - beginning a bitter public dispute between the two men. However, the Royal Geographical Society, which had sponsored the expedition, honoured Speke for his exploits and commissioned a second expedition in 1860 to resolve the dispute. Speke and Captain James Grant mapped a portion of Lake Victoria.

In July 1862, Speke, unaccompanied by Grant, found the Nile's exit from the lake and named it Ripon Falls. The party then tried to follow the river's course, but an outbreak of tribal warfare required them to change their route. On his return to England, Speke was greeted with enthusiasm and published 'Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile' (1863). Yet Burton and others remained unconvinced. On 15 September 1864, shortly before Speke and Burton were to debate the subject publicly, Speke was killed by his own gun while hunting. It remains uncertain whether it was an accident or suicide. How feud wrecked the reputation of explorer who discovered Nile's source | Books | The Guardian The Observer How feud wrecked the reputation of explorer who discovered Nile's source Jealous but charismatic Sir Richard Burton managed to push travelling partner John Speke out of the historical limelight African explorer John Hanning Speke in a photograph taken about 1860.

Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images Saturday 10 September 2011 19.18 EDT First published on Saturday 10 September 2011 19.18 EDT Close This article is 5 years old He was a 19th-century explorer who risked his life to unearth a great secret – the source of the White Nile, a mystery since Alexander the Great first posed the question. But new research reveals that John Hanning Speke's place in history was eclipsed by a jealous, charismatic rival, who stole the limelight by convincing others Speke was an unscrupulous, disloyal man devoid of emotion. Previously unpublished documents cast fresh light on Speke, showing he was very different to the character portrayed by Sir Richard Burton, his travelling companion, whose denigrating image has long been accepted by historians. Tim Jeal, author of a new book Explorers of the Nile, has unearthed evidence that has convinced him Speke's achievements were "diminished by what a very skilful, clever but ultimately cynical person had done to him".

Speke had, in fact, fallen hopelessly in love with an African woman in Uganda and showed astonishing frankness in giving tribesmen and women sexual advice. He also showed real bravery. Apart from fighting off spear-wielding Somalis, he saved a wife of a Bagandan king from being beaten to death. Speke, Jeal believes, should be in the pantheon of the world's greatest explorers. It was he who, in 1863, became the first European to reach Lake Victoria and find its outlet, still accepted as the Nile's main source, demonstrating how the world's longest river flowed through a vast desert without being replenished for 1,200 miles by a single tributary. Jeal said: "Burton became painfully jealous of Speke for upstaging him by 'discovering' Lake Victoria on a solo excursion during their joint expedition to Lake Tanganyika. For over a decade after Speke's accidental death, Burton did his utmost to persuade the British public that the dead man had been a deluded nonentity." Burton was hailed as the first European to find Lake Tanganyika, but Jeal said he was a "relatively unsuccessful explorer" whose discovery was made with Speke.

"They explored the lake together to reach the key northern part but failed. Then, as Burton was too sick, Speke volunteered to search alone. Yet Burton later claimed Speke was sick too." Burton's condescending assessment of Speke's character was so devastating that seven Burton biographies published in the past 50 years support his ideas, Jeal said. The author argues that, while Burton is justifiably admired as a linguist and swordsman and for his "staggering 50 books", including translations of works such as the Kama Sutra, Speke was "looked down on". There has been only one biography about Speke, published 40 years ago. What damaged Speke most, Jeal said, was "the claim that he was not merely self-absorbed, but cold". Biographers described him as "inhibited and prudish", with suggestions he was a repressed homosexual or "entirely sexless – a sad figure compared with the sexually active Burton". The new material shows Speke as more tolerant and insightful about Africans than most explorers of his day. In contrast, Jeal said, "Burton's racism is often forgotten … His attitude to Africans was deplorable.

Speke, like every white traveller in Africa, wrote some unkind things too, but his real support for Africans has never fully come out before." Map illustrating the paths of the White and Blue Nile. Part of Speke's poor reputation is because his parents did not keep his letters. Also, it seems, historians never made use of the manuscript on which Speke based his book The Discovery of the Source of the Nile, despite its availability in Scotland's National Library. Jeal found extensive passages that had been deleted by Speke or his publisher, John Blackwood. In one of them, Speke asked his readers to "be prepared to see and understand the negroes of Africa in their natural, primitive or naked state; a state in which our forefathers lived before the forced state of civilisation subverted it". Blackwood insisted that praise for the "naked state" be deleted. Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Great Victorian Adventure will include previously unpublished accounts of Speke's unrequited love for an 18-year-old African woman called Méri – his "beautiful Venus".

He was dismayed by her unsentimental honesty in telling him that her reason for being with him was so that she "might die in the favours of a rich man". He wrote of his parting gifts to her: "A black blanket as a sign of mourning that I never could win her heart… a packet of tobacco in proof of my forgiveness, though she had almost broken my heart; [but] I only hoped she might live a life of happiness with people of her own colour as she did not like me because she did not know my language to understand me." Speke's enemies, led by Burton, were preparing a savage attack on him at a debate in Bath. But Speke died suddenly in Corsham, while climbing a wall holding a shotgun. It was clearly accidental, despite Burton's claim of suicide to avoid "exposure of his misstatements in regard to the Nile sources". While Burton was knighted, Speke was denied the honour. Explorers of the Nile: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Great Victorian Adventure is published by Faber on 22 September. It will be BBC Radio 4's book of the week from Monday [12th] .

Speke Bay Lodge - Tanzania Adventure Speke Bay Lodge Visit Website: Speke Bay Lodge Speke Bay Lodge is located on the south-eastern shore of Lake Victoria in Tanzania, East Africa. It is 15 kilometres from the Serengeti National Park, and 125 kilometres north of Mwanza. Speke Bay is part of Speke Gulf, named after the famous explorer John Hanning Speke, who, in 1858, discovered Lake Victoria to be the source of the Nile. Embraced by savannah, the Lodge looks like a small village, stretched out along the shores of the lake. The main buildings and luxury accommodation are round in form, built to perfection, painted white and thatched with a grass roof in the traditional style of the local tribe, the Sukuma. Since the Lodge is outside but close to the Serengeti National Park, it is the ideal place to start or end your safari, or relax during your travels. Excursions in boats and on mountain bikes are offered, so you can truly experience Africa; you can fish from the beach for Tilapia, enjoy the peacefulness, or wander around on the Lodge’s 100 hectares of savannah, looking for birds.

Question: Which explorer discovered Lake Victoria and the source of the Nile?
Answer: John Speke